


The Heartwood

by Glass_Prince



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hate to Love, Human Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Other, POV Alternating, Science Experiments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2020-01-12 00:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18435473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glass_Prince/pseuds/Glass_Prince
Summary: I never asked for a life like this. I never wanted my fate to come to this. When I set that building ablaze, I thought that I would die. I thought I was handing my soul over to the devil.Everything changed when I saw the outside world. No longer tethered to that institution, I thought I could be finally free.But everything felt wrong. That institution still holds me, even if indirectly. Their effects on me still last, even after finding freedom.I can only hope for a miracle to save me from the monster I am...





	1. Burn

~~~~

The small town was flipped on its head overnight. The people living there flared to life in the blink of an eye when the news got out. A dangerous criminal was on the loose. Fear filled the minds of the poor residents. They hugged their children close and prayed above that they would be safe.

But they had nothing to fear.

It was all talk and fear mongering. Just endless rambles of lies that they used to make people scared. I hated it. I wasn't the enemy, I never was.

But they want to make it  _ seem _ as if I was.

They were scared of me, yes, but it wasn't for any good reason. All because I am more intelligent than them? It was  _ them _ who made me this way. Their fear of me is irrational and pathetic.

I mean no harm.

But the people don't know that. When the institution burned down, all the public could think of was how dangerous the individual who did this was. It is understandable to some degree, but I would never harm anyone who didn't deserve it.

_They_ , however, _did_ deserve it.

And I relished every second they breathed in smoke and scorched their flesh.

I never knew what the outside looked like. When I found out, I accumulated even more malice and hatred for the ones who locked me up. They kept me from such beauty and warmth. They kept me from the plush ground and brightly colored plants. They kept me from freedom.

And even after I got myself lost in the forest, I could still see the massive inferno scrape the sky. It lit the sky's blue color into a yellow and reddish shade with black clouds curling around it. I could still smell the smoke, but I couldn't help but admire the medley of colors that met my eyes.

I forced myself to move along, feeling the chilling wind that was so different from the heated building. The plush grass turned to prickly dirt as sticks and sharp bushes kept finding my exposed skin. The forest became darker and more quiet the more I ventured. I wasn't afraid, but I was curious.

The further I went, the trees seemed to become more and more rotten. I continued to step on sharp and painful twigs and plants and leaves, but I tried to ignore the pain. The sky became dark over time, and, before I knew it, I couldn't see anything in front of me.

I felt like I was walking to my death.

My fingertips, still smokey and blackened, trembled in the cold woods. I could still smell the smoke from the institution. My too-short hair left my neck open and exposed. I cursed the men that cut it. My bare feet stubbed up against a large trunk, and I fell on the hard ground.

The night was still and silent.

Until a voice cut through the darkness. It hissed, like static, in my ear. I couldn't see anybody, but I felt their strong presence.

“Do you know where you are?” a deep voice rumbled.


	2. Creature

It seemed like a dream, almost. Everything moved slowly. My eyes were fixated on the figure that had stepped before me.

Long limbs the color of the pitch black sky met my eyes. I had to turn my head upwards a good deal before I saw the head. An ivory white face looked at me. Or, rather,  _ seemed _ to look at me. Whatever this creature was had no facial features, but it spoke as if it had a mouth.

I felt myself tremble uncontrollably. My blackened fingers twitched. I don't know if it was cold or terror I felt. Either way, I tried to hold myself still.

"Do you know where you are?"

Its deep voice rumbled again. I would've found it soothing somewhat if I wasn't fearing for my life. The tall creature was most terrifying. The way that no muscles in its face moved when it spoke shook me to my core. I felt as if I was in a nightmare. Perhaps I was.

"No...I don't know…"

My voice sounded much weaker than I had hoped. It gave away the obvious fear my body reacted to. My teeth chattered together as I finished my sentence. The fear of illness from the cold crossed my mind.

'No, I have much more to worry about than hypothermia.' I thought.

"Indeed you do. You have trespassed along my territory."

A new flash of fear stabbed me in the chest. I had unknowingly stepped from one death trap to another. I mentally slapped myself for not thinking about the worldly creatures. I had no idea that animals such as this were so territorial. The books I stole and read in the facility had done me no favors.

"I'm sincerely sorry...I had...no idea that...this forest was occupied…"

I struggled to speak from my clinking teeth. It was getting increasingly colder as time passed and I missed the initial rush of heat that the fire gave me back in the institution. I had no idea the world could hold such intense temperatures.

"Your ignorance will be punished. You have a choice of running while hunted, or to die now."

The deep voice that seemed to soothing before became hostile in the blink of an eye. I didn't know what to say. Running while being hunted sounded like the best option, since it gave me more time to live, but I didn't want to die at all. Besides, where would I go? The town knew me as a psycho on the loose and the institution would undoubtedly rebuild itself and try and capture you again, now I have an angry animal trying to make me choose between death and slow death?

"I wouldn't know...where to run anyways...other than further into...the forest...I don't think...that's wise at all…"

I desperately rubbed my arms for warmth. The creature looked at me most strangely for an animal with no face. It cocked its head to the side like it was confused.

"You make things less fun for me. Since you are unable, I will make it quick."

Its voice was still hostile, but I appreciated its politeness. It seemed to straighten its back and a medley of other limbs came from behind it. I thought it was a whole other creature, but I saw that they came from the same entity.

They looked like sharp tree branches, but darker. They twisted slowly, but erratically. It was mesmerizing, but it filled me with fear. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see my own blood. I heard the grass crack under a weight and then a strange, yet familiar, sensation rose in my stomach. My eyes shot open when I knew what was about to happen.

'No! Not now!  _ Please not now! _ '

My thoughts were useless as the sensation grew stronger. My skin warmed in a flash and my vision went black.

I may have escaped from the institution, but whatever they did to me rose up again.


	3. Monster

My skin was prickling with heat. My neck cracked with an effort. My legs bent back and I felt my back arch. In times like these, I let my body do what it wants.

In times like these, I have no control, anyways.

It hurts, obviously. Truly, the most inconvenient of abilities rests within my form. The disgusting sensation of dirt caking under my nails and my throat rattling lets me know when I've gone "Feral", at least, that's all I know it as.

I've experienced it enough times for me to lose track. I have no idea what happens, exactly, but everytime I wake up from it, I had done something irreversible. Property damage, murder, and theft are all examples of crimes I would never commit normally, but, while Feral, I have committed.

For the past few months, I had believed that I had it under complete control. I was very wrong. Right now, it was bubbling under my skin and breaking out.

" _ Stop! Not now, please!" _

I didn't realize that I had been shouting. I think I was preoccupied by the overwhelming pain.

My vision went dark, my hearing became muffled, and my throat rattled. It was a slow and torturous transition from person to monster. I had figured that I was going to kill the creature who had spoken to me just moments before. I felt terrible for it. I didn't like being under this influence.

Just as soon as it had come, it left. My body shook and my vision slowly came back. Emotions built up inside my chest and I felt a horrible sense of guilt for what I had assumed I committed. I don’t think I have the ability to cry, but this feeling was probably the closest thing. A voice that was not my own filled my ears and it felt as if I was violently pulled from a nightmare.

“You are a strange one.”

My eyes followed to who spoke and I saw it again. It seemed unharmed as it stood in the same place it prepared to kill me in. Its blank face seemed somehow scrunched, or perhaps it was the shadows. I felt my body shake as it turned its head towards me. Did I not hurt it? A part of me was relieved that I did not harm it, but the other parts were filled with fear. I couldn’t bring myself to speak anymore. All I could do was focus on my breathing.

“Where did you come from?”

Its voice was more benign than when it first talked to me. I didn’t know if that was a good thing. I wanted to answer the question, but I couldn’t find my voice. All I could manage was a finger pointing behind me. I didn’t know if the facility was still burning down or not, I didn’t know if it was still there, I didn’t know if the creature understood me. It must’ve, for it didn’t ask again. I saw it bend down to my level. It was unsettling to see its almost silver skin get closer to me. A part of me felt oddly compelled to reach out and touch its face, to see if it was as smooth as it appeared. I sat on the ground, unmoving.

Perhaps it was all a part of a grand scheme, like what the men in the facility told me. They always told me that I was a part of a huge story and that my fate was written in a book somewhere. I never found the thought comforting until now. If I had a fate, a whole story written out for me, then surely I would not die here and now. I believed in their words just enough for me to feel less afraid with the creature’s face so near mine, as if it was going to eat me. I tried to get my heart to stop beating against my chest. The eerie silence of the forest felt like a thousand drums thumping in my head.

“You could be useful to me.”

Its voice was quieter, like a whisper. The forest felt like it was becoming smaller around me. My head hurt and a wave of dizziness came over me. Its voice continued to hiss.

“If you come with me, I could take you somewhere far, far away from whence you came.”

It knew I didn’t have anywhere else to go. Perhaps it was the monster in me that made it want to keep me. I feared the creature inside me as much as I feared the creature in front of me. I felt like a shadow, like a curtain containing my insides. I shuddered and spoke with an effort.

“Will I be safe with you?”

My voice shook and my throat hurt. I felt myself lean in closer to its face. It cocked its head and I leaned back away.

“I can’t guarantee it, but you will never have to come back here.”

It reached out a large hand towards me. Its twisty fingers uncurled as it held out its palm. I hesitated. I felt my stomach clench and my heart skip. My head buzzed with static and I felt warm liquid drip down from my nose to my lips. I slowly placed my hand in its. Its skin felt like tree bark. I remember the white noise in my head becoming louder before my vision faded away and I fell down.


End file.
